Latest Wii U Updates

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is headed to both Wii U and Nintendo Switch sometime next year. Those of us lucky enough to try out the Wii U version at events like E3 and Gamescom encountered considerable frame rate drops (Digital Foundry's technical analysis of the game showed it frequently dipping to around 20 frames per second), and similar slow-down has been seen in recent trailers. Will this be improved for the Nintendo Switch version? We may have our answer! Hit the jump for more.

This was one of the subjects we touched upon during the long-form discussion segment on this week's episode of Nintendo Week, our Nintendo-themed podcast here at Gamnesia. We've already made the full discussion available on YouTube just a few days ago, but for those of you seeking shorter, more digestible chunks, we've pulled out this specific snippet of the discussion. Check out the video after the jump for our response, or keep reading inside for a brief, brief summary.

Another great addition is coming to the Wii U's Virtual Console in North America today. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is the eleventh entry in the much-acclaimed Fire Emblem franchise and originally launched on the DS back in 2008. Shadow Dragon is actually a remake of the first Fire Emblem and features Marth as he journeys across the land to rescue his kidnapped sister and to free the continent of Archanea from the Shadow Dragon, Medeus.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is available right now on the Wii U Virtual Console for $9.99. Who's grabbing this?

Although it's been about nine months since Metroid: Other M released on the Japanese and European eShops, those of us in North America are finally getting our chance to grab our copy. Metroid: Other M is the penultimate story in the Metroid chronology and sees Samus on an adventure to explore a derelict ship with the Galactic Federation 07th Platoon and their leader, Adam Malkovich. The game is also a very divisive entry in the franchise, with some people loving the journey and others completely trashing it.

Metroid: Other M is available now through the Wii U eShop for $19.99. What do you think of Other M? Will you be picking this up?

Last week, Nintendo treated Zelda fans worldwide to a brand new trailer for Breath of the Wild. It was a fantastic look beyond the Great Plateau, showcasing areas and people we've never seen up until this point. As awesome as all of this is, I think the best part of the trailer is that it raises a number of significant questions about who and what we can expect to find across Hyrule. The biggest one in my mind, however, are the identities of the one or two mysterious women we're introduced to. Who are these characters, and what role do they play in the story?

Head inside for my thoughts and be sure to let me know what you think!

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the most highly-anticipated Nintendo games in years, and Nintendo has been keeping the hype strong with regular video teasers that highlight its features. One area that Nintendo hasn't spent much time on thus far is Breath of the Wild's story, especially in relation to previous games. While there are plenty of theories floating around based on the footage we've seen so far, Nintendo hasn't revealed the next Zelda adventure's place in the timeline, and they should keep it that way. Hit the jump for more!

"As the Mother 3 rumor is sort of died down by now, and as Emily Rogers seems to have mostly correct information, do you think the game could actually still be translated and localized for the Wii U, or rather 'switched' over to the Nintendo Switch instead?"

This was one of the listener questions answered on
this week's episode of Nintendo Week, our Nintendo-themed podcast here at Gamnesia. Check out the video after the jump for our response, or keep reading inside for a brief, brief summary.

The weekly software and hardware sales numbers from Japan are in, courtesy of Media Create, and long-awaited RPG Final Fantasy XV is top dog. Pokémon Sun and Moon enjoyed two weeks at the top, but Final Fantasy XV sold just under 700,000 units at launch to knock the twin 3DS games down to number two. Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS came in third, followed by Watch Dogs 2 and rounding out the top five with All Kamen Rider: Rider Revolution.

In hardware, PlayStation 4 saw a massive sales boost this week, jumping from just under 34,000 to over 110,000 units sold. 3DS, Vita, and Wii U all saw sales increases as well, but Sony's console easily topped the charts. You can check out the full breakdown by clicking below.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild got a brand new trailer at this year's TGA, revealing tons of new concepts and opening up tons of new questions about the game.

This was the major discussion segment on this week's episode of Nintendo Week, our Nintendo-themed podcast here at Gamnesia. Check out the video after the jump for our full thoughts on the trailer, the mysterious new characters, the flying civilization, Hyrule's past, and so much more.

It's been a long wait made longer by a recent delay, but the Kickstarter-funded action-platformer Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is almost here! Shortly after sending the Early Access build live, developer WayForward Technologies has announced that Shantae's next adventure will be available for download on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Vita, and Steam on December 20th. The game is also set to receive a physical release at some point, and Xseed will share those details "shortly."

Nintendo has announced on Miiverse that they will be hosting a Christmas-themed contest based around Super Mario Maker, the popular level editor game. Players are invited to design their own festive levels and tag them as "Christmas Lounge" when they upload their courses.

During The Game Awards 2016 we got two new looks at The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in the form of a new trailer and a gameplay demo. GameXplain followed this up with a short video that highlighted five noteworthy details, but now that they've had some more time, they've released a more in-depth analysis of the new trailer (an analysis of the gameplay demo will follow later) that digs into tons of secrets and speculates about the game's story and features. It's an insightful look at one of the most highly-anticipated Nintendo games in years, and you can check it out by clicking below!

There are tons of gaming podcasts in the wild, but Nintendo Week stands alone as it recaptures all the fun of Nintendo in the form of a weekly show. Every episode brings news recaps, discussions, games, music, and more to create a show for all kinds of Nintendo fans, whether they're new or old, passionate or passing-by.

Join Alex, Colin, and Ben, as we answer your questions all about Nintendo Switch in the Mystery House, including questions about 3D platformers,
Mother 3's international release, Decidueye joining Smash Bros. to represent Pokémon Sun and Moon, and more. Then we hold a long discussion segment all about the overwhelmingly cool new trailer for Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which was revealed at The Game Awards earlier this week.

You can check out all this and tons more in the episode after the jump—or if you'd like to save it to listen later, you can
check the latest episode out on iTunes, available now. And be sure to head inside to get a rundown of all the Nintendo news from the past week!

Nintendo hasn't officially stated when Breath of the Wild will launch outside of "2017," but many people were hoping or expecting it to be a Switch launch title. Unfortunately, that may not be the case. Emily Rogers, Eurogamer, and Laura Dale all claim that it won't be ready for launch, and that Nintendo is aiming to release it in June. It seems it was planned to come to Switch at launch but both localization and bug testing are taking much longer than they anticipated. Target Briefly Listed its Release Date as June 13th, 2017, lending credence to the claims, but GameStop recently listed it as a Q1 game on their marketing calendar during an earnings call, so it's possible it could be more like May.

This was one of the talking points on this week's episode of Nintendo Week, our Nintendo-themed podcast here at Gamnesia. Check out the discussion video above for our full thoughts, or keep reading below for a brief, brief summary.

Aside from all the new footage from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, my personal highlight of The Game Awards this year was getting to see the awesome new Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment trailer from Yacht Club Games. The developers have been hard at work on getting Specter Knight's campaign ready to go, and if a recent blog post about the upcoming content is anything to go off of, Specter of Torment is going to be one heck of a ride.

Head inside for more details, plus an extended version of the newest trailer!